Updated 21st October.
Today, the 21st of October, 2008, has seen the release of t.A.T.u.’s latest album, Happy Smiles!
The album is available for physical sale in Russia at two Soyuz stores, as well as from t.A.T.u.’s official store. If you are like me, and are unable to purchase the album from either vendors, you are still able to purchase it online from, amazing enough, the iTunes Music Store!
The album is amazing, simply amazing. All the fucking around, all the postponement, all the lack of communication, no longer matters. They have released the album, and it is awesome.
Please support our talented girls by purchasing the album. If you need convincing, or a taste of what $16.99 on iTunes will get you, you can download the album for sampling purposes only from this Mediafire link: http://www.mediafire.com/?yzinnrzdj2j
official press release, posted september 10 on tatu.ru
“Veselye Ulybki” / “Happy Smiles” is t.A.T.u.’s third studio album.
After parting with Universal Music in 2006 and touring Russia as well as playing a set of gigs abroad, in spring 2007 Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova started to record new material. They worked in Germany, the US (Los-Angeles) and in Russia. The release of the new album should have been in December 2007, but Yulia Volkova was expecting her second baby, and it was decided to hold the album until the second half of 2008.
Meanwhile t.A.T.u. released two singles – “White Robe” and “220″. The biggest radio stations refused to play the songs because they “didn’t fit the rest of the playlist”, but videos for these tracks became the most discussed works of Russian musicians not only in their own country, but also in the world and made t.A.T.u. the only artists, whose videos in Russian language were taken in heavy airplay by Eastern Europe music TV channels (Viva Poland, MTV Poland, MTV Baltic, MAD TV Bulgaria, MAD TV Greece). Both videos got into The World Chart Express of MTV Europe in March and in August 2008 respectively.
In May 2008 t.A.T.u. released the most unique maxi-single in band’s history – hyperion-plate “Beliy Plaschik”. The uncensored version of “Beliy Plaschik” video became the main bonus of this double-disc edition. Despite the fact that “Beliy Plaschik” single was available in shops only from 20 May, it appeared on 15th line of Billboard Russia magazine May Album Sales Chart.
“Veselye Ulybki” / “Happy Smiles” is 12 songs, born during 3-year-long silence.
For almost a year a working title of the album was “Upravleniye Otbrosami” / “Waste Management”. But a month before the release – for the sake of ironic smile of those, who understand –the title changed. The essence, however, remained.
Among “Happy Smiles” contributors there are beginners, who were lucky to appear in the right place at the right time (such as Masha Maksakova, a 16-year-old school girl from St. Petersburg; she wrote the lyrics “Beliy Plaschik” is based on). There’re also professionals (Billy Steinberg, an author of the songs for Madonna as well as t.A.T.u. smash hit “All About Us” (2005)); Valery Polienko, the author of the lyrics for “Ya Soshla S Uma”, “Nas Ne Dogonyat” (2001), “Obesyanka Nol” (2005); Sergei Galoyan, a composer of “Not Gonna Get Us”, “Ne Ver, Ne Boysya, Ne Prosi” songs).
In 2009 “You and I”, a movie directed by Roland Joffe, should be released. t.A.T.u. songs from the “Happy Smiles” album will be featured in its soundtrack.
Distributor: SOYUZ
Available at SHOP.TATU.RU
Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Белый плащик
3. You and I
4. Снегопады
5. 220
6. Марсианские глаза
7. Человечки
8. Веселые улыбки
9. Running Blind
10. Fly on the Wall
11. Время луны
12. Не жалей
